Sony Ericsson Shown Red Card Over Facebook Feature In TV Advert

An advert by Sony Ericsson that shows someone using a Satio smartphone to take photos and chatting with Facebook friends has been deemed misleading by the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA).

A Satio owner complained to the industry watchdog after seeing the advert, arguing that the phone did not have any dedicated Facebook application at the time of launch.

Sony Ericsson explained that this was due to a problem in the early versions of the smartphone's firmware.

But the mobile phone firm, whose flagship model was hit by a string of embarrassing problems towards the end of last year, was found guilty of misrepresentation.

In the ASA's own words, "Because the ad implied the application was either pre-loaded on the phone or would be available to download, and because this was not the case at the time the ad was broadcast, we concluded the ad was misleading."

To Sony Ericsson's credit though, issues with the application have been ironed out and the Facebook application can be downloaded and installed on the Satio.

Our Comments

This is yet another episode that Sony Ericsson will want to forget as soon as possible. Sales of its handsets last year have been disappointed and it now faces an invigorated competitor in the shape of Motorola. It also needs to watch out for LG and Samsung as well.